The Meaning Of Your Happiness
by Anne Fatalism Dilettante
Summary: On a hot day, Accelerator takes Last Order out for some ice cream.


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**I do not own To Aru Majutsu no Index. :( **

If you all have watched the recent episodes, you would see a very, very epic Accelerator doing all that he can to save Last Order, and you would remember the few lines that Yomikawa-sensei mentioned. Dang, Accelerator's my favourite character in this anime now. Well...here you go.

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**The afternoon sun was blazingly hot.

He twitched, feeling the trail of sweat down his back.

Academy City was in its usual state of activity. With school hours over, students swarmed everywhere, gathering in cafes, shopping malls and cinemas. Lively chatter filled the air, accompanied by the random blasts of music from the interior of buildings. A few couples could be seen pressed closely to each other, whispering sweet words despite the intense heat of the day.

He growled and formed curses watching the vibrant scene roll pass him.

With everyone out on the streets now, the only thing he wanted to do was to curl up somewhere and have a nap. The whole cheerful image of Academy City was beginning to get onto his nerves, and he smirked a little as he envisioned ripping the skin off the shopkeeper nearby, or perhaps twisting the vectors around that shiny car so that a certain form of chaos would ensue…

"Why are you spacing out with a stupid look on your face? Misaka asks tentatively."

Her face was slightly flushed from the heat, but the questioning look was apparent.

Accelerator stared down at her, the tiny girl that was only half of his height.

"I'm not the one who wanted to eat out, you idiot." Shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, he trudged forward in an annoyed manner.

"That does not answer the question, Misaka exclaims as she tries to wheedle out an answer!"

"Oi, enough already, do you want to eat or not?"

She rushed up towards him, brown hair bouncing in excitement.

"Misaka wants to eat ice cream, Misaka says in a pleading tone! After that, Misaka wants to go to an amusement park, and then we can have more ice cream, Misaka says, planning out the entire schedule of the day!"

Accelerator sighed. For such a tiny person, she sure was tiring to talk to.

What even made him decide to watch over her anyway?

He thought back of the incident on how he had been shot in the head by Ao Amai and the time when he had nearly been killed by Kihara. They had wanted to use Last Order, the Misaka clone 20001, for their own twisted purposes. The old him would not even have cared. But, now…

Well, he supposed that being the administrator of the Misaka Network was no easier than being him, the infamous Accelerator of Academy City.

Without any doubt, past incidents have made the both of them rely on each other. She relied on him for protection, and he relied on her for…for what?

"_Is it that hard to show goodwill towards others? Are you afraid…of not being able to fix things?" _

Yomikawa's previous words rang hollowly in his head. She had questioned him about the darkness he held within himself, and even he did not know the answer to them.

Accelerator did not understand what he was feeling. Was it guilt? Anger? Repentance? Or was it the empty, hollow feeling that he always had ever since he was young? He had always been feared, ever since young, due to the immense power he held, and after killing so many, the fear and respect they had for him was no less.

Accelerator might have been able to recover from most of the injuries sustained after every battle, but he never would be able to discard all the darkness held.

"Misaka wants a mixture of chocolate chip, raspberries, vanilla, mint, chocolate, butter pecan and a strawberry-flavored syrup topping, Misaka says excitedly, eager to taste the sweet delicious ice cream!"

They had reached the well-known ice cream shop of Academy City. Accelerator twitched an eyebrow at the ice cream flavors she had asked for, knowing full well that the pricing was going to go through the roof. The young student working there raised his eyebrows at Last Order's heavy ice cream request, but performed it anyway.

"Thish tastsh shgood, Mishaka shays…"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, brat," Accelerator ordered.

He glanced at her, watching the ice cream stains around her mouth, sighed, and handed her a napkin.

At least she was out of the darkness for now. She was so frail, so defenseless. What she needed were days like these, not days of being hunted down, being used by those filthy pieces of trash out there.

"Why aren'tsh shyou eatingsh, Mishaka asksh curioushly?"

"Because I don't want to."

It was a big mistake to say that, because as soon as he did, she furrowed her eyebrows and sulked. In fact, on a closer look, it appeared that she was about to cry.

"Oi, wha - ?"

She took a deep swallow, and said, "Misaka wants you to order some ice cream too, Misaka says in a commanding, authoritative voice!"

"…What the hell?"

"Misaka finds that ice cream makes her happy, so she wants you to eat some too, so that you can be happy, Misaka says in a firm voice."

Accelerator gave up. Knowing that there would be no end if he countered that statement of hers, he could only watch her give a triumphant smile as he ordered himself a simple ice cream cone.

"That's better, Misaka says with a nod in her head. Now, can we go to the amusement park now? Misaka asks."

Well, what else was there to do anyway? He might as well oblige.

As they set off towards the amusement park, a thought passed through his head.

Happiness, huh?

There was a faint flicker of warmth that settled within, but he wasn't sure why.

Perhaps he could not atone for all the sins that he had committed, but taking care of a young brat, Accelerator was confident that he could.

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**Accelerator would have been a good brother for Last Order, huh? [shrug]**

**Mmm...I feel like writing something for Touma and Mikoto. :D It's really cute. **

**Review! :)**

**-Anne**


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